Lithium is a chemical element belonging to the alkali metal group and has the symbol Li and an atomic number 3. Lithium is soft and silver-white and causes corrosion.
Lithium is a strategic metal resource that can be used as a raw material for various applications, for example, secondary batteries for hybrid vehicles, electric vehicles, and mobile electronic devices, such as mobile phones and notebook PCs. Another application of lithium is a raw material for next-generation nuclear fusion power generation. Many countries control lithium as a strategically important metal resource due to its future possibility of utilization as a fuel for next-generation nuclear fusion power generation.
Lithium reserves around the world are estimated to be about 11,420,000 tons (on the basis of Li metal, Jan. 2009, USGS). However, lithium reserves are unevenly distributed in some South American countries. In this situation, individual countries around the world are fiercely competing to secure lithium supplies.
Lithium carbonate, a main supply source material for lithium, is now at a price as high as about 5,000 dollars per ton in the world market, demonstrating economic scarcity value of lithium.
South Korea is entirely dependent on imports for lithium carbonate as a key raw material for secondary batteries. Since lithium resources (brines) are not found in South Korea, the development of lithium-related technologies has focused on the recycling of lithium, and therefore, no technology for the production of lithium carbonate from brines has been established in South Korea. Moreover, in a situation where a steep rise in the price of lithium carbonate is predicted as a result of explosive demand growth in the near future, the development of lithium carbonate production technologies is more urgently needed.
On the other hand, lithium carbonate is commercially produced from brines by solar evaporation in Chile, Argentina and other countries. However, solar evaporation has problems of long evaporation time and low recovery.
Bolivia possesses the largest lithium reserves in the world but is not yet known to have its own technology for the production of lithium carbonate from the Uyuni brines. The Bolivia's Uyuni brines are very different from those of brines from Chile and Argentina in terms of lithium quality, impurity contents and evaporation amounts. Thus, development of an economical technique suitable for the production of lithium carbonate from the Uyuni brines is needed.
Therefore, there is a demand to develop a method for producing lithium carbonate from brines in an economical and efficient manner.